Conventionally known is a rotary connector device for electrically connecting a rotatable side and a fixed side, such as a steering side and a vehicle body side of a vehicle, to each other. In general, steering means of a vehicle is provided with a configuration, such as an airbag, that is required to ensure a reliable operation in an emergency situation. Accordingly, from the viewpoint of the reliability of an operation, downsizing, and the like, a rotary connector device configured to connect a steering side and a vehicle body side to each other by a flexible flat cable or the like is adopted.
Patent Document 1 discloses this type of a rotary connector. The rotary connector of the Patent Document 1 is configured such that a flat cable having a certain length is, in a wound state, accommodated in an annular space formed between an outer cylindrical part (outer cylinder) with a cylindrical shape provided in a stator and an inner cylindrical part (inner cylindrical shaft part) with a cylindrical shape provided in a rotator. This flat cable internally has a conductor part, and this conductor part electrically connects a connector provided in the stator and a connector provided in the rotator to each other. In the annular space, the flat cable is wound in one direction and then wound in the opposite direction with a winding direction being reversed in a U-shaped manner. Such a configuration enables the rotator to rotate in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction the number of times corresponding to the length of the flat cable.
The rotary connector disclosed in the Patent Document 1 includes a ring member (support member) and rotating rollers. The ring member has a disc-like shape, and rotatably supports the rotating rollers that are arranged at regular intervals in a circumferential direction. The rotating rollers are, at their outer circumferential surfaces, in contact with the flat cable, and thereby can smoothly guide the flat cable wound in the annular space.